Federal Court Rules in Favor of Transgender Teen Gavin Grimm

A U.S. District Court judge in Virginia has ruled that transgender teen Gavin Grimm has a valid claim to sex discrimination under both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, after his former school board implemented a policy to prevent him from using the boys’ restroom at his school.

Started in 2014, the policy said that bathrooms “shall be limited to the corresponding biological genders, and students with gender identity issues shall be provided an alternative appropriate private facility.” Because this is a cruel and isolating thing to do to a teenager who just realized that he’s transgender, Grimm—who graduated from high school in 2017—refrained from using the bathroom at school, and as a result developed a urinary tract infection. With the help of the ACLU, he sued the school board in 2015.